trans_9 | the test of techniques/the forms/and stances/the flow/the rythm/the internal answers [open]

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the test of techniques/the forms/and stances/the flow/the rythm/the internal answers [open]

God knows where she'd gotten the blades.

They hovered in the air, little menacing antigravity buzzsaw shuriken. Violence lay coiled within them, not directed outward but in, at Sheeana who stood poised with her arms spread. This was the attitude with which she called the great worm. Her toes curled in, feeling the strange, unfamiliar grass (coarse, yes, like the rare poverty grasses that sometimes grew on the leeward side of the dunes but still far too thick for her liking and multicolored). She opened her awareness, allowing herself to become part of the place and her of it.

Seven, a warm up. Their timer finished counting down, they converged in on her

There was a series of contortions that blurred in and out of visibility. She leapt. She hugged the ground. At one point she found herself poised on one hand, feet thrown up into the air like a Minoan athlete over the bull.

For practicing the Weirding Way, no artificial lightshow would do, no matter how real feeling.

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Katara listened intently. Yes, this was familiar somehow: it was as if she were a pupil all over again, starting from scratch. She wasn't though: the time it took her to became a waterbending master meant that she had to have a keen eye, then use her more than just what was in front of her and, after watching Toph at work, sense what she could not see and be right. She had watched Sheeana quietly, and had found her movement to be unbelievable but even that was an illusion too: nothing was impossible.

So she quietly thought, and remembered the movement: how Sheeana seemed to almost glide, how the blades barely were able to touch her. Even the mere nick that had pierced her body was only a misstep that any other person would have suffered worse from, why was that? They were of the same build, that much was right, so how was she able to move as she did? Unless...

Yes, the impossible was possible. Katara was a martial artist as well as as a bender: honestly, the two went hand in hand, there was no ways out of it. Katara KNEW the limitations of the human body as well, being a healer demanded such knowledge.

"You...you can control your body. Not just control your limbs, but everything, nerves and all. That's an impossibility in my world, but you were trained to do it. You are capable. Is this the power of...of the Bene Gesserit?"

Sheeana's face lit up in a pleased smile. "Correct, down to the chemical processes of our cells." Bene Gesserit teaching was not concerned with praise or admonishment. The student was correct or not, they applied themselves or they didn't. But if it did, she would have praised Qhatara. "I would not discount it as impossible. Perhaps because you can WaterBend...and presumably there are bendings for other substances?...there never was a need to develop these skills. Environment dictates invention."

Though she was unaware, her own heritage provided a counterpart, for Fremen would literally kill for the ability to conjure and control water.

"There are other applications for this control, if you'd like to see them."

"Oh, well," Katara stammered a little. She wasn't nervous, not exactly. It was more of understanding how something like this could happen that was so mind blowing for her. She wished she could learn because she realized, more than anything, that she wanted to further her teaching. It wasn't as if she believed she knew everything there was to know about waterbending, far from it. But there were no waterbenders to teach her now, none left to show her something new. And Katara, without realizing it, desperately wanted to learn something she did not know, wanted to challenge her body again, like she had to with Master Paku.

But that was imposing, and for all she knew, it was a secret, sacred art. She might not ever be able to do what Sheeana could do. She was a Reverend Mother, after all, with years of training. Still, she could learn things, ask questions, watch. Observe.

"There are," Katara sais. "In my world, there are also earthbenders, Firebenders and airbenders. Some of the art has been lost because greedy men sought to control our nations, but our arts, however diminished, persevered. It's through that and the love of my people that I became a waterbending master."

And here, she smiled. "I'd be honored if you could show me, Master Sheeana."

Sheeana noted this information and filed it away. 'Greedy men sought to control our arts'...she sounds a little like a Fremen.

She sat down cross-legged in front of her. "Bene Gesserit use only a few titles. Reverend Mother can be used for all who have taken the Water of Life and are thus able to access Other Memory. Reverend Mother Superior is the current head of the order...that would be me. All Bene Gesserit, from an acolyte on her first day to the most ancient and learned, however, are also called Sisters. And you may address anyone, even Mother Superior, by her name and they will not be offended."

She paused a moment for her to absorb that and its implications. She had not yet met another order that behaved in this way, was organized the way they were, though the Jed-eye seemed to come close.

"Now I could show off for you by displaying some of our talents...the Sexual Art would be difficult to show anyone, as would the mental abilities, but I could perhaps lead you around and make you do silly things with the Voice of Command..." She dropped that first one in there with such casualness, it was as if she had not learned that such things were likely to make Qhatara blush. "Or I could show you something much smaller and likely to lead to quite a bit of frustration."

"I see," Katara said, but that really said so little compared to what she was actually thinking. She liked the idea of an order that called each other sisters: it wasn't as if there had been much of that in her world aside from when she went to the North Pole and learned the healing arts with Yugoda, before having her face off with Master Pakku. What Sheeana was talking about sounded right to her, purposeful, and above all, important. She had learned waterbending because it was a part of her, and she knew she would always feel that way until the day she died. But it was also something she learned to help the people she cared about, to try and free a part of herself that was still that scared little girl that fled to find her father, only to see it was too late for her mother. "Very well, Reverend Sheeana."

Sorry. Force of habit.

"Well," Katara said, blushing a little but ignoring that timid part of herself, "I want to learn all that I can in strengthening my body. You know I am one with my art, but as you know, our worlds are gone. If there is a way that I can learn to be strong as you are, I would be willing to do all that is needed. The art of, er, Voice Command in the Sexual Art sounds fascinating, but I want to be stronger sister, and help those that need me."

Besides, Meluly was more than enough flirtation with the "sexual arts" that she needed.

"Those are sep...Ah, nevermind that it's not important. Well then, in that case let me start you with the very first Prana Bindu exercise. Remove your shoes and hold your feet out." She had a plan in mind, one that might at first confound and frustate her, but she had a feeling Qhatara would find a lot more rewarding in the long term. "This will seem silly and minor but it is the first small hurdle a student must overcome."

Katara already felt silly by not understanding that the things Sheeana was talking about were separate, not one in the same. She would have apologized immediately, but knew that Sheeana had stopped caring about that now. Besides, a student's place wasn't to apologize when things went wrong: it was to learn and not make the same mistake again.

"Okay," Katara said, and took off her leggings. She was glad she was raised in a cold climate, because she did not feel cold in the slightest. She stretched out her toes, and held her feet out as requested.

She held her own right foot out on the rough grass. "Try to move each individual tendon and muscle without moving any of the others." This was a feat (har de har!) normally impossible and she knew Qhatara probably couldn't do it. In the untrained, they simply wouldn't work that way.

She demonstrated, going carefully from right to left. Each individual tendon rippled under the skin, like musical notes.

The way she described it actually made Katara gulp. She had that much control. Well that wouldn't be easy, that was for certain. She knew that she had never tried anything that hard before, and starting now would definitely not be done instantaneously.

Still, she was trained by her master to give such things her utmost dedication, so she closed her eyes, took a breath and attempted, failing. She sighed, then tried again, failing. She nodded to herself quietly and then, pulling herself into herself, silencing her impulses, and made a third attempt.

Less movement than before, certainly, and her concentration had quieted most of her body, but it was not fully accomplished yet. She glanced at her foot sternly, then to Sheeana.

"This will take longer for me to accomplish," she explained.

Sheeana gave her a warm smile. "Keep trying. Intention will lead you there, right up to the wall of your frustration. You will be frustrated intensely and then you will be abruptly through your frustration and will come stumbling out the other side, trailing bits of it with you."

She closed her eyes for a second. Just to show off, she made some of the individual muscles of her face dance.

Careful with that, desert waif. Get addicted to admiration and start down Alia's path. Advised Darwi from Other Memory.

Abruptly she opened them. "Oh...It's time for Allen's Hannukah celebration. I'm sorry but i'll have to cut this short, as I don't want to miss that. Keep trying that and tell me when you can do it on both sides."

Katara was about to protest that she too wanted to go to the Hanukkah celebration, but when she saw the involuntary face twitch, she felt all the more determined. She was not, after all, one to give up too easily when there was certain things she wanted done. She wondered vaguely if Sheeana knew that.

"I'll be there in an hour," Katara sais, "Because I want to go too. I've never participated in anything like that before...but not before I get better at doing this. I'll see you soon."

And Katara started back at her work, concentrating on her feet now.

Sheeana stood and regarded her with a cocked head. "If you are also a friend of Allen's, then come, and I will tell you what I know of Jewish customs on the way. You have the entire rest of the week to practice."

Katara nodded. "Yes, I'm quite find of Allen. He's a really nice guy!"

She paused. "Then I'll be doing that. Sheeana...if you don't mind, would you help me a little in learning what you do. I...I want to learn, as a student again."

Sheeana smiled and waited for the girl to join her. "I have been helping him teach the children...Sociology and Theology, the Bene Gesserit's other specialties." She closed her eyes for a full minute as she walked, considering Qhatara's request. Finally she opened them. "Alright. I am glad you have chosen me as your teacher. But I warn you, this teaching can be dangerous...as much for you as others. Be wary. I do not want you accidentally stopping your heart or dislocating something we cannot simply pop back in."

Katara listened intently, taking in all that Sheeana had said. In one respect, it sounded like the hardest thing she would ever had to do. Katara knew there would be no turning back if she accepted this, and she could not do this half-heatedly. It would take everything. And she would have to be willing to push herself.

"If you are willing to teach me, I will push everything I have," Katara said. "Your ways are strange and very arduous. But I want to learn, to know. And I will do whatever it takes."

Another thing to consider. She could tell the girl was serious in her desire and already physically well conditioned enough. The only potential hurdle was her existing ethical code. Each world, she had come to learn, came with its own set of physical laws, its own 'feeling'.

The Bene Gesserit were a product of a particularly harsh universe. This had influenced their philosophy quite a bit.

"Then I should give you a very brief overview of our philosophy, so you can decide for yourself if this is something you wish to undertake. We do not simply train ourselves to become stronger. We are teachers not just of individuals but of humanity as a whole. All Bene Gesserit share the dream of a mature humanity. We protect humanity from itself. We are unafraid to sacrifice the idea of ourselves as good people to achieve this. Although we take no joy in it, we kill and manipulate where we need to." She paused to allow the WaterBender to take this in.

Katara looked over at Sheeana. "You've asked me about this before," she said, "So you know a little of what my answer will be. I'm not one for killing, Sheeana, not when I can still find a way to not do so. You also know that doesn't mean that I can completely avoid it all the time either. You know why I was jailed for awhile. I avoid killing and manipulating for a reason: the enemies in my world have done it to me, and they've done it with no conscience. So I will never do anything like killing because it makes things easier for me."

There was a big BUT to that though, and Katara knew Sheeana saw it clearly.

"But if I have to protect the people I love, and I have no choice, I will do whatever it takes. I don't like it, and it pains me thinking of it, but in my world, I was lucky. We didn't have to kill then, our abilities were enough. Here, that might not be the case, and I know there might be a time the enemy seeks my life. So...if it is to save those I care about, and I am forced, I will do it."

It hurt to think about it. It hurt to say it. And Katara could feel the familiar battle inside, the one that railed at the idea that she would kill, that begged her to remember how she'd been when she went after her father's killer. But the other part of her saw Aang, saw him when Azula had struck him down, how close he'd been to death. People like Azula existed everyone, even in this world, and she knew that. And if there was a chance they would try to take Aang away from her again, they they would force her, she would do it, and deal with the moral ramifications after that were inevitable.

Because she would NOT be that scared little girl who ran before, only to return and find her mother dead.

"I have? I've had so much on my mind lately, my memory must be effected..." This was a jab at her mentor within.

It is not my job to keep you from forgetting a detail. Darwi fired back from Other Memory.

She nodded as if satisfied by the answer while they passed under a streetlight that was made from a thick vine with rings of leaves, supporting a single glowglobe...an artifact from her universe.

"It may simply be testament to your skills as a Bender. But you are right. Here, at the confluence of universes, new dangers inevitably arise. It is the nature of complexity for them to."

She wondered at her statement: the people I care about. It was the nature of a kind person, she knew, to say things like this. But Muad'dib had expressed a similar sentiment.

"Our other duties are related. One is to guard the responsible use of Spice. Spice is a drug found only on my homeworld of Rakis. It expands consciousness, extends life, repairs memory, and in certain individuals induces accurate prescience. Not every Sister chooses to become a Reverend Mother, but for those who do, we test our internal control to the utmost by ingesting a modified, poisonous form of it. I became a Reverend Mother at fourteen, the youngest in our order's history."

Another pause.

"The other is to guard against the appearance of a Kwisatz Haderach. The Kwisatz Haderach was a goal we sought thousands of years ago. He was to be a hero, messiah and prophet. The son of a rebellious Reverend Mother, we got him five thousand years before my time. He was a hero to his people...my people. But in doing so, he turned us into narrow minded fanatics, unable to question him and unable to tolerate others doing so. He was a prophet but in doing so he locked the future into place. He removed chance from the universe and thus doomed us all to stagnation and eventual extinction. He embarked on this path to save the woman he loved: It was either the doom of our universe or his death, and he chose the former. It was up to his son to implement a solution...But that is a story for another time. We guard against a second Kwisatz Haderach appearing as penance for our role in creating the first one. Am I overloading you with information?"

Katara gave her a playful grin. "I can see we're going to pay closer attention to each other, sister, or we'll keep repeating the same things to each other."

It was weird though, to call someone she respected sister. But it was Sheeana's wish, and it was so her way, so who was she to disrespect that? As it was, she was still a little surprised at the answer she'd given to Sheeana. She hadn't lied, she meant every single word, but she hadn't known it would be what she would say until she said it. Somehow, thinking of Aang or Sokka or Toph or Carol in danger, and some horrible person laughing at their pain and causing more, awakened something hard and cold in her. It wasn't something about herself she completely liked, but it was something that was true. The people she cared about in her life, they meant more to her than anything.

But now that thought was on hold as she listened to the words Sheeana was saying. Firstly, there was Spice. She had heard satches of information about Spice on the ship before, but she hadn't cared much at the time, thinking it to be something to do with cooking. But she knew now it was a different kind of Spice completely, and more like a sort of spiritual substance that, taking too much, could actually harm the ingester. She had heard of things like this on her world, and thought first about Sokka and the Cactus juice he had taken in the desert. It was possible that this substance was similar, but instead of making you all silly and weird, might actually aid in spiritual awakening. Still, like anything in any universe, too much or taken by mistake brought the opposite of its intended effects. Katara had done her reading, and studied a little about hallucinogens. Spice sounded like something a little different though.

And now the Kwisatz Haderach. Katara could relate to this perhaps more than she realized, thinking of Aang. For Aang, his destiny was to bring the world back in balance after it had fallen into ruins due to the war. Waterbenders were not exempt from the cruelty and injustice brought about by troubled times: Hama, after all, was the testament to that. When the future of a world seemed uncertain, when what was made to heal became something to hurt, no one could be safe, and that was when the world needed to find a way to heal all its own. For Sheeana's world, it was preventing a figurehead from corrupting the world's very soul.

It was frighteningly similar in certain ways.

"No," Katara said. "You've said a lot, but I'm not confused. If anything, it helps me to understand your ways a little more."

"Good. But i've gotten ahead of myself. You can think on these things and decide for yourself whether you wish to take the Oath and embark on the path of being a Bene Gesserit. If I fill you with my ways right now, there won't be any room for Allen's. Now I traveled with a group of Jews and theology is a part of Bene Gesserit education, so let me tell you what I know of them..." And she filled her in as much as she could on the walk there.

"Oh, thanks!" Katara exclaimed, glad she wouldn't have to go and look up information about Jewish people in the media library now. "I'm sure it'll help with the celebration! Do you know much about Hanukkah?"

They talked eagerly as they left the place behind, but what she'd seen was not far from Katara's thoughts, no was the fact that she had already made her decision. She would brave whatever path it took, do what was needed to be at least on the path of a sister of the Bene Gesserit.

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the test of techniques/the forms/and stances/the flow/the rythm/the internal answers [open]

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